Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or new to the 140.6 scene, nailing your IRONMAN bike fueling/hydration plan can be tricky, with a lot riding on getting it right. With the numerous sports nutrition products on the market today, figuring out how to fuel for 5-7 hours can be daunting, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. What works for one athlete doesn’t necessarily work for another, and no matter how appealing it might sound, the “rolling buffet” approach—eating and drinking everything in sight along the race route—will do more harm than good.
Ironman Coeur d’ Alene 2014
When are you most in your element?
When I do Ironman, I’m in mine. The long hours of training fulfill my need to be in constant motion, give me a sense of peace, and I feel a sense of accomplishment after each epic workout.
After my first three Ironman’s, Coeur d’ Alene in 2010, Lake Placid in 2011, and Arizona in 2012, I decided to spend 2013 improving my fitness. I began 2014 in good health, and continued to worked hard to strengthen my weaknesses while maintaining my strengths.
At my previous Ironman in Arizona, I’d placed sixth, largely because of some mishaps coming out of the swim. Mishaps always happen, some bigger than others, but this one really cost me and it was hard to recover emotionally. This time around, in Coeur d’Alene, my goals were simple: to get on the podium (top 5), stay in the moment, and race my own race.
Four weeks before IMCDA, I raced Raleigh 70.3. I hadn’t tapered well (intentionally) and was fighting a cold. I plowed through and kept my head up, but my workouts the next week really suffered. [Read more…]
Triathlon Essentials
No matter what sport you play, if you wear athletic shoes, you need Lock Laces. Not only do they save you time, with Lock Laces you never have to bend over to tie or re-tie them, they are comfy and you can dress up your shoes with fun, reflective colors!
Race Smart athletes know that having the latest cutting-edge equipment can make them faster. For example, a well-fit bike allowing them to stay in an aero position can shave minutes off of bike splits and finish times. Carbon race wheels, [Read more…]
Time Crunched?
Time crunched? Eat, sleep and rejuvenate on the fly with these time-saving tips.
Triathletes are busy, goal-driven people. Not only do we juggle training for three sports, many of us hold down full-time jobs while trying to spend time with our families, among other activities.
What’s the secret to getting fitter, stronger and avoiding injury among all this activity? It lies in finding a balance between stress and rest. Physical training provides the necessary stress that allows for critical adaptive response, or fitness gains, to take place. But this adaptation can only occur in our rest phases—the time in between workouts.
[Read more…]
3 Top Recovery Tips for the Time Crunched Triathlete
Let’s face it: triathletes are busy, Type A, goal-driven people. Not only do we juggle training for three sports, many of us hold full time jobs, have families, attend school, and more.
The secret to successful training (getting fitter, getting stronger, and avoiding injury) is finding a balance between stress and rest. Physical training provides the applied stress to allow for critical adaptive response. This adaptation occurs in our “off” or rest phase, the time in between our workouts.
Therefore, in order to improve, you must consider your recovery as equally important to training – in fact, it is simply an extension of training.
While there are numerous expensive and time-consuming recovery methods, only a handful are effective, cost sensitive, and realistic for the busy triathlete. Here are my top three recovery tips to incorporate into hectic lives.
[Read more…]
Avoid the Endurance 15
I came upon this article a few months ago and contacted Dr. Rick Kattouf, asking permission to use his article in my blog post. I felt this topic is all to common with endurance athletes – and it needed to be shared. If you are struggling with your weight, not becoming more lean, having afternoon and evening cravings despite long training hours each week, take a few minutes to read this article.
Weight Gain During High-Volume Training? How To Avoid the “Endurance 15”
By Dr. Rick Kattouf
Here is a common question that has come my way many times over the years:
“Rick, I recently trained for an Ironman/marathon/ultra-marathon/ultra-distance cycling event. I trained more than I ever have before and I tried to eat healthy. I am so frustrated because after all of this training, I actually gained 15 pounds during this time. How can I actually gain weight when I was training more than ever?”
I call this all-too-common scenario the “endurance 15”. I am sure you’ve heard of the “freshman 15”: a young man/woman goes off to college and gains 15 pounds during their freshman year of college. The “endurance 15” is the scenario in which an endurance athlete is training many hours a week and actually increases body weight and fat; gaining five, 10, or 15 pounds during their training.
There are a multitude of factors that contribute to the endurance 15. Let’s discuss why this may be happening. [Read more…]
Chocolate – Not Just for Valentine’s Day
Life is too short not to indulge once in a while — especially in chocolate. But, don’t grab a 3 Musketeers candy bar thinking you are doing your body a favor. Not all chocolate is created equal. Dark chocolate packs the biggest health punch compared to milk and white chocolate.
The secret behind dark chocolate’s powerful punch is the cacao bean, rich in a plant-based organic compound called flavonoids. Flavanols, the primary type of flavonoid in cocoa and chocolate, have powerful antioxidant properties responsible for providing numerous health benefits. The downside is cacao (the cocoa bean) by itself is unappetizing with its chalky and bitter flavor. Once milk, butter and sugar are added chocolate gets its yummy, creamy taste we have come to crave. However, the processing of chocolate takes out the flavanols negating the health benefit of cacao. [Read more…]
Reach Your 2014 Goals
Proven Ways to Reach Your 2014 Nutrition Goals
With 2014 underway, many of us have already made New Year’s resolutions, written on a sheet of paper or tucked away in our minds, in hopes that we can become a better version of ourselves this year. If you find that you’re setting the same goals year after year, here are some tips to help break the cycle and turn your resolutions into reality.
Inspired by the powerful message in Sports Psychologist Stan Beecham’s “Elite Minds,” here are my thoughts on how to apply Beecham’s beliefs to your own nutrition goals, from eating healthier and consuming more fruits and veggies to reducing your intake of sugar and processed foods.
Examine Your Intentions
When we make New Year’s resolutions, it is with the hope that they will happen. For a period of time, the goals are our priority.
Beecham contends you can have a clearly defined, written goal, but if you have a goal without intention, you’ll usually fall short of achieving it.
[Read more…]